Can I read Porto Alegre Experiment: Learning Lessons For Better Democracy; Trans. By Stephen Wright on EtoBox?

Porto Alegre Experiment: Learning Lessons For Better Democracy; Trans. By Stephen Wright by Marion Gret & Yves Sintomer is a book available to read on EtoBox.

What is Porto Alegre Experiment: Learning Lessons For Better Democracy; Trans. By Stephen Wright about?

What relevance can a middle-sized Brazilian city possibly have for the rest of the world? This book provides the answer. We live in an age where there is more and more disillusion with periodically trooping to the polls, voting with the party herd, and supporting politicians who, once in office, act contrary to the promises they made on the hustings. The practice of representative democracy, in short, does not command much confidence. In the US, elections are dominated by big money. In developing countries, structural adjustment and neoliberal economics compel governments to ignore the demands of ordinary people for services like health and education. This is where the participative budgetmaking experiment in Porto Alegre comes in. Over the past decade, this city has institutionalized the direct involvement, locality by locality, of ordinary citizens in deciding spending priorities. This book gives a down to earth description of how this democratic innovation works in practice. It explores the difficult questions. Can inhabitants taking part in public management really strengthen its efficiency? Is genuine participation possible without small groups monopolizing power? Can local or

Author

Marion Gret & Yves Sintomer

Publisher

London ; New York: Zed Books ; New York: Distributed exclusively in the U.S. by Palgrave

Published

2005

Language

EN

ISBN

9781552661345

Subjects

Political Science, Economics, Social_sciences